How long does it take for a sim/account to be 'fully active'?

Got sim on Saturday and been using it to text and call. No data. No voicemail.

When I phone customer services, whilst they are very polite, they told me there is no timescale available as to when my account will be active.

Should I cancel my direct debit and then, when they ask me why I never paid, tell them that I'll let them know when I'm ready to pay and that I can't tell them exactly when I will pay? Would they keep my service running in those reciprocal circumstances?

I don't understand why they want your advance line rental straight away before you have the sim in your hand. They've billed me for a months usage and the month is ticking away but I have only partial service?

Re: How long does it take for a sim/account to be 'fully active'?

Update: Have been on to customer services. They said that they are sending me a new sim, because the one that arrived on Saturday has a number that is linked to an existing account (someone else). How this is possible I am not quite sure.

I was trying to cancel the service under the 14-day cooling off period but apparently it is best to wait until this new sim arrives and is active, to avoid any mix ups. I have a bad feeling about this but will have to wait and see.

I also mentioned that I am not getting the service I paid for (no data or voicemail, wrong number etc.) and they said that they will look at refunding me the payment I made, once I get back in touch to cancel. They never take into account the time you are spending chasing the issues. If we say I have spent two hours either on hold, speaking to an advisor or looking into the issue generally, then where is the recompense for this?

It reminds me of when a BT sales rep signed me up for a big broadband package when I explicitly said I would think about it and did not want to go ahead. I spent many hours and phone calls trying to get out of the deal, without recompense, and I promised myself I would never ever use BT again. I suppose I am now back with BT (albeit through a 'proxy') and seem to be paying the price already!